Caring for Veterans

Older horses need access to plenty of good quality forage to keep their digestive systems in good shape, but unfortunately our veterans can be particularly sensitive to the dust and mould spores that are found in even the best quality hay, which can lead to the development of COPD. Soaking all his hay can help your veteran to cope, but as we all know, this is a horrible job and will also mean the hay is less nutritious for your veteran as a high proportion of the vitamins and minerals are leached out into the water and thrown away, so these will need to be supplemented back into his diet.

A great option is to steam your veteran's hay. Steaming kills off fungal spores, bacteria and dust mites (something that is not done by simply soaking) and all potentially airborne dust particles will be sufficiently dampened down and neutralised. At the same time, steaming the hay ensures that the vitamin and mineral content of the hay is retained, so your veteran is able to get as much nutritional value as possible from his hay, so he can stay happy and healthy this winter.